


Adrift

by PingZing



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-05
Updated: 2011-03-05
Packaged: 2017-10-16 03:10:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/167789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PingZing/pseuds/PingZing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose encounters mortality face-to-face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Adrift

Your first thought is nothing.

Literally nothing. Your mind cannot comprehend what you are seeing, and you stand rigid with bewilderment. Here is someone who is supposed to be invincible and untouchable, to the point where the concept of her being injured is utterly alien to you.

The concept of grievous bodily harm is no stranger however, especially after witnessing John's grisly demise at the end of Jack Noir's blade. It does not take your mind long to connect the dots, and you rush forward the moment you realize what's happened. You drop to your knees beside the supine figure and try your hardest to ignore the awful splashing sound.

The figure opens her eyes and she turns to face you. Recognition dawns and she weakly raises her hand. You grab it and squeeze without looking. Her other hand reaches up to stroke your cheek, and you ignore the steaks of blood it leaves.

“Rose...” she breathes. “I am...so sorry.”

At last, you find your voice. “Mother! What...how...?” Your infamous eloquence has deserted you.

“Jack Noir happened, I'm afraid.” She pauses to cough up blood before continuing. “I fear I was...outmatched.”

You cannot believe this. Even in her final moments, your mother is mocking you with her ironic devotion. Unsatisfied with merely feigning love, she has escalated her efforts to the fatal. You hate her. You want to strike her for her insincerity, her foolishness and for all the petty slights you've endured your entire life. But most of all you hate her for ending your game. You hate her for leaving you.

You don't even realize you're crying until you feel a pair of arms wrapped around you. You bury your head in your mother's collar and hold her tight, as if you can keep her from going away, keep her safe. She tells you that it's going to be okay, that it's going to be fine, hush now. You know how ridiculous it is—of course nothing is going to be fine, nothing is okay.

“Why?” you whisper. Why did you do it? Why would you leave me? Why you?

She smiles. “A mother...will do what is best for her children.

“You make me so proud, Rose.”

And she is gone.

In that moment, adrift and alone, you have never felt more like a child and less like a Seer.

**Author's Note:**

> This is an older story of mine. Not very happy with its quality, but I'm sure someone will enjoy it.
> 
> Interestingly enough, I wrote this back in December as a sort of "what-if", long before this actually happened in the story proper. I might revisit it some time to make it mesh with canon better.


End file.
